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Truck Traffic

Here in Canada Trucks are regulated both federally but also on a Provincial basis. Which means as you travel across our large country the rules change slightly.

I live in BC and many of us speculate that in recent years there are more accidents involving semi-trucks and large vehicles. On a small stretch of highway near my house there is an accident involving a tractor-trailer at least once a month. In February of 2023 there was a deadly semi-truck accident every week.

I regularly see these large trucks driving well over the speed limit and see cars drive even faster to try and pass them so they don’t get trapped behind them on the next hill or corner which leaves me feeling very unsafe.

On many highways in the US trucks may not exceed 60mph or 95km/hr. I’ve heard that many European countries have similar rules.

I’ve been considering a campaign to amend the Transport Canada act to include two things that will help keep us safe, share the road more effectively and to reduce the time pressure on drivers.

I’d really like to hear perspectives on this to gain a sense of whether this would be successful and what the impacts might be that I haven’t considered.

1. Trucks over a certain weight limit may not exceed 95km/hr.

2. Trucks over a certain weight limit may not travel in the left lane and may only pass in designated areas.

I welcome you to join the discussion and check back as this informal research project evolves:

https://www.facebook.com/consumable.earth